Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was a flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014. It was traveling from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to Beijing Capital International Airport in China. The cause of its disappearance is still unknown. It is considered the greatest mystery in aviation history and the deadliest case of an aircraft disappearing.

The flight was operated by a Boeing 777-200ER with the registration 9M-MRO. The crew last communicated with air traffic control 38 minutes after takeoff, when the plane was over the South China Sea. Minutes later, the plane was no longer visible on radar screens used by air traffic control but was tracked by the Malaysian military’s radar system for about an hour. During this time, the plane changed direction, moving westward from its planned path. It left radar range 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) west northwest of Penang Island in northwestern Peninsular Malaysia.

All 227 passengers and 12 crew members are presumed dead. The disappearance of Flight 370 was the deadliest incident involving a Boeing 777, the deadliest event of 2014, and the deadliest in Malaysia Airlines’ history until it was surpassed by Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, 2014. Investigators used data from an Inmarsat satellite to suggest that a lack of oxygen might have been a possible cause, but no agreement was reached. At different times, theories about hijacking, crew involvement, and the cargo on board were considered. Many other theories were also reported by the media.

The search for the missing plane became the most expensive in aviation history. It first focused on the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea. Later, analysis of the plane’s communications with the Inmarsat satellite suggested the plane traveled far south over the southern Indian Ocean. Pieces of debris were found along the western Indian Ocean in 2015 and 2016, and many were confirmed to be from Flight 370. A three-year search covering 120,000 km (46,000 sq mi) of ocean failed to find the plane. The search was suspended in January 2017. A second search in 2018 by a private company also failed to locate the plane. A report from the Malaysian Ministry of Transport in July 2018 did not provide a clear explanation for the disappearance. It noted that Malaysian air traffic control made unsuccessful attempts to contact the plane shortly after it disappeared.

Because no definitive cause of the disappearance has been found, the aviation industry has made safety changes to prevent similar events. These include longer battery life for underwater locator beacons, longer recording times for flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders, and new rules for reporting an aircraft’s position over open ocean.

Timeline

Flight 370 last made voice contact with air traffic control at 01:19 MYT on 8 March (17:19 UTC on 7 March) while flying over the South China Sea, less than an hour after takeoff. It disappeared from air traffic control radar at 01:22 MYT but was still tracked by military radar as it changed direction sharply, heading west instead of its original northeastern path. The plane crossed the Malay Peninsula and continued west until it left the range of military radar at 02:22 MYT while flying over the Andaman Sea, 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) northwest of Penang Island in northwestern Malaysia.

A multinational search for the aircraft, which became the most expensive aviation search in history, began in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, where the plane's signal was last detected on secondary surveillance radar. The search later expanded to the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea. Analysis of satellite communications between the plane and Inmarsat’s satellite network showed the flight continued until at least 08:19 (nearly an hour after Malaysia Airlines announced the plane was missing) and traveled south into the southern Indian Ocean. However, the exact location remains unknown. Australia took charge of the search on 17 March, focusing efforts on the southern Indian Ocean. On 24 March, the Malaysian government stated that satellite data placed the plane far from any possible landing sites and concluded, "Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

From October 2016 to January 2017, a detailed search of 120,000 km (46,000 mi) of ocean floor, 1,800 km (1,100 mi; 970 nmi) southwest of Perth, Western Australia, found no evidence of the plane. Several pieces of marine debris found on the coast of Africa and on Indian Ocean islands near Africa—such as one discovered on Réunion on 29 July 2015—were confirmed as parts of Flight 370. The main part of the plane has not been located, leading to many theories about its disappearance.

In January 2018, a search by the private US marine exploration company Ocean Infinity began in the area around 35°36′S 92°48′E, the most likely crash site based on a 2017 drift study. Malaysia had previously formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) with foreign aviation authorities to investigate the incident. Malaysia released a final report on Flight 370 on 17 October 2017. Neither the crew nor the plane’s communication systems sent a distress signal, weather warnings, or technical alerts before it vanished.

Two Iranian passengers who used stolen passports were investigated but ruled out as suspects. Malaysian police identified the captain as the main suspect if human action caused the disappearance, after clearing other passengers of possible motives. The plane’s satellite data unit (SDU) lost power between 01:07 and 02:03 MYT and reconnected to Inmarsat’s network at 02:25 MYT, three minutes after the plane left radar range. Based on satellite data, the plane was believed to have turned south after passing north of Sumatra and flown for six hours with little change in direction, ending when fuel ran out.

Flight 370, which carried 239 people, is the second-deadliest incident involving a Boeing 777 and the second-deadliest incident in Malaysia Airlines’ history, after Flight 17. Malaysia Airlines faced financial difficulties worsened by a drop in ticket sales after Flight 370’s disappearance and the loss of Flight 17. The airline was renationalized by the end of 2014. The Malaysian government faced criticism, especially from China, for not sharing information quickly during the search. Flight 370’s disappearance highlighted the limitations of aircraft tracking and flight recorders, including the short battery life of underwater locator beacons. This issue had been raised before the 2009 loss of Air France Flight 447 but remained unresolved. In response, the International Civil Aviation Organization updated standards for aircraft position reporting over open ocean, extended cockpit voice recorder recording times, and required new aircraft designs to recover flight recorders or their data before they sank.

Background

Flight 370 was operated by a Boeing 777-2H6ER, with serial number 28420 and registration 9M-MRO. The aircraft was delivered new to Malaysia Airlines on May 31, 2002. It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines and designed to carry 282 passengers. At the time of the incident, the aircraft had been in service for over 53,471 hours and had completed 7,526 takeoffs and landings. It had not been involved in any major incidents, though a minor incident occurred in August 2012 at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, causing damage to a wing tip. Its last maintenance "A check" was completed on February 23, 2014. The aircraft met all airworthiness requirements for its airframe and engines. A routine replenishment of the crew oxygen system was performed on March 7, 2014, and no issues were found during the inspection. Ten years after the disappearance of MH370, leaked documents revealed that the aircraft received additional fuel and oxygen supplies shortly before takeoff.

The Boeing 777 was introduced in 1994 and has a strong safety record. Since its first commercial flight in June 1995, the model has experienced only six other hull losses.

The aircraft carried 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 14 countries. Malaysia Airlines released passenger and crew names and nationalities based on the flight manifest. Later, the passenger list was updated to include two Iranian passengers using stolen Austrian and Italian passports.

All 12 crew members—two pilots and 10 cabin crew—were Malaysian citizens. Of the 227 passengers, 153 were Chinese citizens, including a group of 19 artists and their family members and staff returning from a calligraphy exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Thirty-eight passengers were Malaysian citizens. The remaining passengers came from 12 other countries. Twenty passengers, 12 from Malaysia and eight from China, were employees of Freescale Semiconductor.

Under a 2007 agreement with Malaysia Airlines, Tzu Chi (an international Buddhist organization) sent trained teams to Beijing and Malaysia after the disappearance of MH370 in 2014 to provide emotional support to families. The airline also sent its own team of caregivers and volunteers and agreed to cover the costs of bringing family members to Kuala Lumpur, offering them housing, medical care, and counseling. A total of 115 Chinese passenger family members traveled to Kuala Lumpur. Some family members chose to stay in China, fearing they might feel isolated in Malaysia.

Flight and disappearance

Flight 370 was a scheduled flight on Saturday, 8 March 2014, departing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and heading to Beijing, China. It was one of two daily flights operated by Malaysia Airlines between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. The flight was scheduled to leave at 00:35 local time (MYT; UTC+08:00) and arrive at 06:30 local time (CST; UTC+08:00). On board were two pilots, 10 cabin crew members, 227 passengers, and 14,296 kg (31,517 lb) of cargo.

The planned flight time was 5 hours and 34 minutes, which would use about 37,200 kg (82,000 lb) of jet fuel. The plane carried 49,100 kg (108,200 lb) of fuel, including reserves, allowing it to stay airborne for 7 hours and 31 minutes. The extra fuel could be used to fly to alternate airports—Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport and Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport—which would require 4,800 kg (10,600 lb) or 10,700 kg (23,600 lb) of fuel, respectively.

At 00:42 MYT, Flight 370 took off from runway 32R and was cleared by air traffic control (ATC) to climb to flight level 180—about 18,000 feet (5,500 m)—on a direct path to a navigational waypoint called IGARI (located at 6°56′12″N 103°35′6″E). Voice analysis showed that the first officer communicated with ATC while the plane was on the ground, and the captain communicated after departure. Shortly after takeoff, the flight was transferred to Lumpur Radar on frequency 132.6 MHz. ATC over peninsular Malaysia and nearby waters is managed by the Kuala Lumpur Area Control Centre (ACC), and Lumpur Radar is the name of the frequency used for en route air traffic. At 00:46, Lumpur Radar cleared Flight 370 to flight level 350—about 35,000 ft (10,700 m). At 01:01, the crew reported reaching flight level 350, which they confirmed again at 01:08.

The plane’s final transmission before disappearing from radar was an automated position report sent using the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) protocol at 01:06 MYT. This message included the total fuel remaining: 43,800 kg (96,600 lb). The last verbal signal to ATC occurred at 01:19:30, when Captain Zaharie acknowledged a transition from Lumpur Radar to Ho Chi Minh Area Control Centre (ACC):

Lumpur Radar: "Malaysian three seven zero, contact Ho Chi Minh one two zero decimal nine. Good night."
Flight 370: "Good night. Malaysian three seven zero."

The crew was expected to check in with Ho Chi Minh ACC as the plane entered Vietnamese airspace, shortly after losing radar and radio contact. Vietnamese controllers asked nearby planes to try contacting Flight 370 on the international air distress frequency, but no confirmed communication was made. A report from the early search phase mentioned a pilot describing faint “mumbling” and static, but this was never confirmed and is not in the official investigation record. Calls made to the cockpit at 02:39 and 07:13 went unanswered, though the plane’s satellite data unit acknowledged them.

At 01:20:31 MYT, Flight 370 was observed on radar near the navigational waypoint IGARI (6°56′12″N 103°35′6″E) in the Gulf of Thailand. Five seconds later, the Mode-S symbol disappeared from radar screens. At 01:21:13, Flight 370 disappeared from the radar screen at Kuala Lumpur ACC and was lost at about the same time on radar at Ho Chi Minh ACC, which reported the plane was near the waypoint BITOD. ATC uses secondary radar, which depends on signals from a transponder on each plane; therefore, the ADS-B transponder on Flight 370 stopped working after 01:21. The final transponder data showed the plane was flying at its assigned cruise altitude of flight level 350 and traveling at 471 knots (872 km/h; 542 mph) true airspeed. There were few clouds nearby, and no rain or lightning was detected. Later analysis estimated the plane had 41,500 kg (91,500 lb) of fuel when it disappeared from secondary radar.

When the transponder stopped working, the Malaysian military’s primary radar showed Flight 370 turning right, then beginning a left turn toward a southwesterly direction. From 01:30:35 to 01:35, military radar showed Flight 370 at 35,700 ft (10,900 m) on a 231° magnetic heading, with a ground speed of 496 knots (919 km/h; 571 mph). Flight 370 continued across the Malay Peninsula, fluctuating between 31,000 and 33,000 ft (9,400 and 10,100 m) in altitude. A civilian primary radar at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport detected an unidentified aircraft four times between 01:30:37 and 01:52:35; the tracks matched military data. At 01:52, Flight 370 was detected passing just south of Penang. From there, the plane flew across the Strait of Malacca, passing near waypoint VAMPI and Pulau Perak at 02:03, then followed air route N571 to waypoints MEKAR, NILAM, and others.

After 01:06, the plane’s satellite communication system went offline and remained offline during its initial deviation from the planned route. However, at 02:25 MYT, when the plane was over the Andaman Sea, the satellite communication system reactivated and sent a "log-on request" message—the first since 01:06—which was relayed by satellite to a ground station operated by Inmarsat. After logging on, the satellite data unit responded to hourly status requests from Inmarsat for the next 6 hours and two unanswered ground-to-aircraft telephone calls

Search

A search-and-rescue effort began in southeast Asia after Flight 370 disappeared. After analyzing communication between the plane and a satellite, the search moved to the southern Indian Ocean one week later. From 18 March to 28 April, 19 ships and 345 flights by military planes searched over 4,600,000 square kilometers. The final search involved mapping the ocean floor and using sonar to look for the plane, about 1,800 kilometers southwest of Perth, Western Australia. Starting 30 March 2014, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), an Australian government group, led the search. It worked with Malaysian, Chinese, and Australian officials.

On 17 January 2017, the official search for Flight 370 ended after finding no evidence of the plane except some debris on Africa’s coast. A report from October 2017 said the underwater search, which cost about $155 million by June 2017, made up 86% of the total cost. Bathymetry and program management accounted for 10% and 4%, respectively. Malaysia covered 58% of the cost, Australia 32%, and China 10%. The report also said satellite images and debris analysis narrowed the possible crash site to an area of 25,000 square kilometers.

In January 2018, the American company Ocean Infinity began searching again in the 25,000-square-kilometer area using the Norwegian ship Seabed Constructor. The search area grew during the mission, and by May 2018, the ship had scanned over 112,000 square kilometers using eight underwater vehicles. The contract with Malaysia ended in June 2018, and the search stopped without finding the plane.

The Kuala Lumpur Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) started coordinating rescue efforts at 05:30 MYT, four hours after contact with the plane was lost. Search teams first looked in the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea. On the second day, radar data suggested the plane turned back before disappearing, so the search expanded to the Strait of Malacca. On 12 March, Malaysian officials said the plane had flown over the Malay peninsula and was last seen 370 kilometers northwest of Penang. Search efforts then focused on the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.

Signals from the plane to a satellite showed it continued flying for six hours after its last radar sighting. Early analysis placed the plane along one of two arcs—equal distance from the satellite—when it sent its final signal. On 15 March, authorities stopped searching in the South China Sea, Gulf of Thailand, and Strait of Malacca to focus on the two corridors. The northern arc was ruled out because the plane would have passed through heavily monitored airspace, and no other countries reported seeing it.

Search efforts shifted to the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia, within Australia’s search zones. On 17 March, Australia agreed to lead the search in this area. From 18 to 27 March 2014, teams searched a 315,000-square-kilometer area 2,600 kilometers southwest of Perth. This region, described as "as close to nowhere as possible," has strong winds, harsh weather, and deep ocean floors. Satellite images showed possible debris, but no objects were found.

New radar data and fuel estimates led to moving the search 1,100 kilometers northeast on 28 March, followed by another shift on 4 April. Between 2 and 17 April, teams searched for underwater beacons on the plane’s recorders, as their batteries were expected to expire by 7 April. The Australian ship Ocean Shield, China’s Haixun 01, and the British ship HMS Echo joined the effort. Operators said success was unlikely due to the large area and the limited range of the equipment.

Between 4 and 8 April, sounds similar to the beacons were detected, but analysis suggested they might have come from a damaged beacon. A sonar search of the seafloor near these sounds found no evidence of the plane. A 2015 report said the beacon on the flight data recorder’s battery may have expired in December 2012, reducing its ability to send signals.

In late June 2014, officials announced a new phase called the "underwater search." Improved satellite analysis identified a "wide area search" along the "7th arc," where the plane last communicated with the satellite. The priority area was the southern part of this region. Equipment used for the search works best when towed 200 meters above the seafloor. Poor bathymetric data required mapping the area before the underwater phase began. A survey mapped about 208,000 square kilometers of seafloor until December 2014, when the survey paused to prepare for the underwater search.

Malaysia, China, and Australia agreed to search 120,000 square kilometers of seafloor. This phase, starting 6 October 2014, used three ships with equipment like sonar and cameras to find debris. A fourth ship joined from January to May 2015, using an AUV to search areas other tools could not reach. After finding a flaperon on Réunion Island, the search continued.

Marine debris

By October 2017, twenty pieces of debris believed to be from 9M-MRO had been found on beaches in the western Indian Ocean. Eighteen of these items were identified as likely or almost certain to come from MH370, while the other two were thought to probably come from the missing aircraft. On August 16, 2017, the ATSB released two reports: one analyzed satellite images taken on March 23, 2014, showing 12 objects in the ocean that were probably man-made; the other, a study by the CSIRO, pinpointed the crash location with high accuracy at 35°36′S 92°48′E, northeast of the main underwater search area covering 120,000 km.

The first confirmed piece of debris from Flight 370 was the right flaperon, a control surface on the wing. It was found in late July 2015 on a beach in Saint-André, Réunion, an island in the western Indian Ocean, about 4,000 km from the underwater search area. The flaperon was sent to Toulouse, France, where it was examined by the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) and a French defense laboratory. Malaysian investigators also studied it. On September 3, 2015, French officials confirmed that serial numbers on the flaperon matched Flight 370 using a borescope.

After the flaperon was found, French police searched waters near Réunion for more debris. They discovered a damaged suitcase initially linked to Flight 370, but later doubts arose about this connection. The location where the flaperon was found matched models predicting where debris might drift 16 months after a crash near Australia. A Chinese water bottle and an Indonesian cleaning product were also found nearby.

In August 2015, France searched for debris near Réunion by air, covering 120 by 40 km along the island’s east coast. Foot patrols were planned to search beaches. Malaysia asked neighboring countries to look for possible aircraft debris. On August 14, officials said no Flight 370 debris was found at sea near Réunion, but some items were found on land. Air and sea searches ended on August 17.

The flaperon had barnacles called Lepas anatifera, which grow in specific patterns underwater. Scientists studied these barnacles to track the flaperon’s journey to Réunion.

In late February 2016, an object with a "NO STEP" label was found off Mozambique’s coast. Early analysis suggested it might be part of the aircraft’s horizontal stabilizer or wing edges. The piece was sent to Australia, where experts confirmed it was likely a stabilizer panel from 9M-MRO.

In December 2015, Liam Lotter found a grey debris piece on a beach in Mozambique. His family later alerted authorities after reading about a similar find in March 2016. The piece was sent to Australia and identified as part of a Boeing 777 flap track fairing, matching Malaysia Airlines’ stencils.

Debris locations matched the CSIRO’s drift model, supporting the idea that the pieces came from Flight 370.

On March 7, 2016, a grey item with a blue border was found on Réunion. Malaysian and Australian officials checked it for links to Flight 370.

In March 2016, a grey debris piece with a Rolls-Royce logo was found near Mossel Bay, South Africa. It was identified as possibly an engine cowling. Another piece found on Rodrigues, Mauritius, was likely from the aircraft’s interior. Australian experts confirmed both were almost certainly from Flight 370.

In June 2016, a wing flap was found on Pemba Island, Tanzania. Experts in Malaysia confirmed it was from the missing aircraft.

In November 2016, families of MH370 passengers planned a debris search on Madagascar. In November 2018, five pieces found between 2016 and 2018 were handed to Malaysian officials.

Professor Goong Chen from Texas A&M University suggested the plane may have entered the ocean vertically, as other angles would have caused the aircraft to break into many pieces already found.

Investigation

Malaysia quickly formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), made up of experts from Malaysia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France. The team was led by an independent investigator following International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules. The JIT had three groups: an airworthiness group, an operations group, and a medical and human factors group. The airworthiness group studied the plane’s maintenance records, structure, and systems. The operations group reviewed flight recorders, flight operations, and weather data. The medical and human factors group looked into psychological, health, and survival issues. Malaysia also created three committees on 6 April 2014: one for families of those on the flight, one to organize the JIT, and one to manage Malaysian resources used in the search. The criminal investigation was led by the Royal Malaysia Police, with help from Interpol and other international law enforcement groups.

On 17 March, Australia took charge of search, rescue, and recovery efforts. For six weeks, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) worked to define the search area, using information from the JIT and other government and academic sources. The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) managed the search. After the fourth search phase, the ATSB was responsible for setting the search area. In May, the ATSB formed a working group to find the plane’s likely location at 00:19 UTC (08:19 MYT), based on satellite data. The group included experts from the UK, US, Australia, Malaysia, UK, US, and France.

As of October 2018, France was the only country still investigating the case through its Air Transport Gendarmerie. France aimed to verify all technical data, especially from Inmarsat. In 2024, researchers at Cardiff University studied underwater hydrophone signals from airplane crashes in the ocean. They suggested these signals might help locate MH370, possibly bringing the UK back into the search.

Two interim reports were released on 8 March 2015 and March 2016. These reports included facts about the plane but no analysis. The final report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, published on 3 October 2017, was 440 pages and recommended better flight tracking technology. The Malaysian Ministry of Transport’s final report, released on 30 July 2018, was 1,500 pages. It stated the plane was turned around manually, leaving its flight path shortly after 01:00 MYT, possibly by the pilot or someone else. The plane was missing for 20 minutes before being noticed. After these findings, Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority chairman, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, resigned on 31 July 2018.

The only clues about MH370’s location after it disappeared from radar at 02:22 MYT came from communications between the plane and Inmarsat’s satellite network, relayed by the Inmarsat-3 F1 satellite. These signals helped investigators infer possible events during the flight. The team faced challenges in reconstructing the flight path because there was little information about the plane’s location, direction, or speed.

Aeronautical satellite communication (SATCOM) systems send messages from the cockpit and automated data from the plane using the ACARS protocol. SATCOM also handles other messages like FANS and ATN, and provides voice, fax, and data links. The plane uses a satellite data unit (SDU) to send and receive signals through the satellite network. This works separately from other systems that use ACARS. Signals from the SDU are sent to a satellite, which strengthens and changes the signal’s frequency before sending it to a ground station. The signal is then processed and sent to its destination, such as Malaysia Airlines’ operations center. Signals go from the ground to the plane in the opposite direction.

When the SDU powers on, it sends a log-on request to the Inmarsat network, which is answered by the ground station. This helps identify the satellite to use and confirms the SDU is active. If the SDU doesn’t respond for one hour, the ground station sends a “ping” to check if it’s working. This process is called a “handshake.”

Although the ACARS data link on MH370 stopped working between 01:07 and 02:03 MYT, the SDU remained active. After the plane left radar coverage west of Malaysia, the following events were recorded by Inmarsat’s Perth ground station:

• The plane did not respond to a ping at 09:15.
• The satellite communications suggest the plane remained operational until at least 08:19 MYT, seven hours after losing contact with air traffic control over the South China Sea.
• Changes in the burst frequency offset (BFO) indicate the plane was moving at a speed.
• The SDU needed location and direction data to keep the antenna pointed at the satellite, showing the navigation system was working.

The lack of a response to the 09:15 ping means the plane lost communication between 08:19 and 09:15. The log-on request at 08:19:29 was likely sent after a power interruption, software failure, or a loss of systems connected to the SDU. Investigators think the most likely reason was a power outage.

A log-on request sent earlier at 02:25 shows the satellite system was offline from the last ACARS transmission at 01:06 until 02:25, possibly due to a power interruption. It is unclear why the system rebooted at 02:25.

At 08:19, the plane had been in the air for 7 hours and 38 minutes. A typical flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing takes 5.5 hours, so fuel exhaustion was likely. If the engines failed due to running out of fuel, the plane’s ram air turbine (RAT) would deploy, providing power to some systems, including the SDU. About 90 seconds after the 02:25 handshake, the plane’s communication system was active again.

Speculated causes of disappearance

Malaysian police checked the homes of the pilots and looked at the financial records of all 12 crew members. A report from Malaysia in March 2015 said there was "no evidence of recent or upcoming large financial transactions" by any pilot or crew member. Also, video footage from cameras showed "no major changes in the pilots' behavior."

However, US officials believe it is likely that someone in the cockpit of Flight 370 changed the aircraft’s autopilot to direct it south over the Indian Ocean. Media reports said Malaysian police considered Captain Zaharie as the main suspect if human actions caused the disappearance. In 2020, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a Sky News documentary: "From the highest levels of the Malaysian government, I understand they believed it was a murder-suicide by the pilot from the beginning."

In 2023, retired engineers and pilots Jean-Luc Marchand and Patrick Blelly spoke in several conferences about the pilot suicide theory, using detailed analysis and a published report to support their claims.

In 2016, New York magazine shared a confidential document from the Malaysian police investigation. It said the FBI found a flight path on Captain Zaharie’s home flight simulator that closely matched the route the plane took over the Indian Ocean. This evidence was not included in the public report. New York magazine wrote:

New York magazine obtained a secret document from the Malaysian police investigation into Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. It showed that the plane’s captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, practiced a flight deep into the southern Indian Ocean less than a month before the plane disappeared under similar conditions. This information, which Malaysia did not include in its public report, is the strongest evidence yet that Zaharie intentionally took the plane in a planned act of mass murder-suicide.

The documents suggest Malaysian officials may have hidden important evidence. This is not unusual, as there is a history of aircraft investigators not believing pilots could intentionally crash a plane with passengers.

The FBI’s findings about the flight simulation were confirmed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). The Malaysian government also confirmed the simulation, but called it "nothing sinister."

The SATCOM system worked normally from before the flight began (starting at 00:00 MYT) until it responded to a message from the ground at 01:07. At some point between 01:07 and 02:03, the Satellite Data Unit (SDU) lost power. The final report said it is likely the communication was turned off or power was cut intentionally. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the radar transponders and flight data system were likely turned off deliberately to hide the plane’s location and direction. At 02:25, the SDU restarted and sent a log-on request.

US and Malaysian officials checked the backgrounds of all passengers listed on the flight manifest. One passenger, a flight engineer for a Swiss company, was briefly suspected of being a hijacker because he had the skills needed to operate an aircraft.

Two men boarded Flight 370 with stolen passports. The passports, one Austrian and one Italian, had been reported stolen in Thailand within two years. The men were later identified as Iranian citizens, aged 19 and 29, who had entered Malaysia on 28 February using valid Iranian passports. They were believed to be seeking asylum. The head of Interpol later said the organization believed it was not a terrorist incident.

On 18 March, the Chinese government said it had checked all Chinese citizens on the flight and ruled out their involvement in "destruction or terror attacks."

Flight 370 carried 10,806 kg (23,823 lb) of cargo. Four containers of mangosteens (a tropical fruit, totaling 4,566 kg or 10,066 lb) and 221 kg (487 lb) of lithium-ion batteries were of interest to investigators. Malaysian police questioned those who handled the mangosteens and Chinese importers to rule out sabotage.

The lithium-ion batteries were part of a 2,453 kg (5,408 lb) shipment from Motorola Solutions in Malaysia to China. They were packaged according to international guidelines but were not inspected further before being loaded onto the flight. Lithium-ion batteries can cause fires if they overheat, which has happened on other flights, leading to strict transport rules.

An analysis by the ATSB compared Flight 370’s evidence to three types of accidents: an in-flight upset (like a stall), a glide event (like engine failure), and an unresponsive crew or hypoxia event. It concluded that an unresponsive crew or hypoxia event "best fits the available evidence" for the five-hour period as the plane traveled south over the Indian Ocean without communication or major course changes, likely on autopilot. However, no agreement exists among investigators about the unresponsive crew or hypoxia theory. If no control inputs were made after the engine failure and autopilot disengaged, the plane would likely have entered a spiral dive and crashed within 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) of where the engine failed and autopilot turned off.

The flaperon analysis showed the landing flaps were not extended, supporting the theory of a high-speed spiral dive. In May 2018, the ATSB again stated the flight was not in control when it crashed. A spokesperson added, "We have a lot of data showing the aircraft was not being controlled effectively at the end."

Aftermath

Public communication from Malaysian officials about the loss of Flight 370 was initially filled with confusion. The Malaysian government and the airline shared unclear, missing, or sometimes wrong information, with civilian officials sometimes disagreeing with military leaders. Malaysian officials faced criticism for repeatedly sharing conflicting details, especially about the last known location and time of contact with the aircraft.

Malaysia’s acting Transport Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, who was also the Defence Minister until May 2018, said there were no problems between the countries involved in the search. However, experts explained that regional conflicts created real trust issues that made cooperation and sharing information difficult. International experts noted that long-standing disagreements over sovereignty, security, intelligence, and national interests made it hard for countries to work together effectively. A Chinese academic pointed out that countries were searching on their own, not as a group. The Guardian newspaper noted that Vietnam allowed Chinese planes to fly over its airspace, which showed some cooperation. Vietnam later reduced its search efforts after its Deputy Transport Minister said Malaysian officials had not provided enough information despite requests. China, through Xinhua News Agency, asked Malaysia to lead the search with more transparency, a request later supported by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Malaysia initially refused to share raw data from its military radar, calling it “too sensitive.” Later, Malaysia agreed to share it. Defence experts explained that sharing radar data could be sensitive because it might reveal how advanced a country’s radar system is. Some countries may have had radar data about the aircraft but were unwilling to share it, fearing it could expose their defense capabilities or security. Similarly, submarines in the South China Sea might have information about the plane if it crashed into the water, but sharing such details could reveal their locations and listening abilities.

Critics also pointed out delays in the search. On 11 March 2014, three days after the plane disappeared, a British satellite company (or its partner, SITA) gave officials data suggesting the plane was not near the areas being searched in the Gulf of Thailand or the South China Sea. The data hinted the plane may have changed direction through a southern or northern corridor. This information was not made public until 15 March, when Malaysia’s Prime Minister shared it in a press conference. Malaysia Airlines explained that the raw satellite data needed to be checked and analyzed first to understand its meaning before it could be confirmed. Hishammuddin said Malaysian and U.S. investigators discussed the data on 12 March and sent it to the U.S. for further analysis twice. By 14 March, the UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch had reached the same conclusion independently.

In June 2014, relatives of Flight 370 passengers started a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise US$100,000 (about $135,999 in 2025), with a goal of raising US$5 million, offering rewards for anyone with information about the plane’s location or cause of disappearance. The campaign ended on 8 August 2014, raising US$100,516 from 1,007 contributors.

A month after the disappearance, Malaysia Airlines’ chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, said ticket sales had dropped but did not give specific numbers. This may have been partly because the airline paused its advertising campaigns. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ahmad said the airline’s focus was on helping families emotionally and financially and providing answers to the public. He said the airline was insured to cover financial losses from the incident. In China, where most passengers were from, Malaysia Airlines bookings dropped 60% in March.

Malaysia Airlines retired the MH370 flight number and replaced it with MH318 starting 14 March 2014. This is a common practice for airlines after major accidents. As of September 2025, Malaysia Airlines still operates the Kuala Lumpur–Beijing route as MH318, now landing at Beijing Daxing instead of Beijing Capital.

Malaysia Airlines received US$110 million (about $143 million in 2024) from insurers in March 2014 to cover payments to families and the search. In May, Allianz, the lead reinsurer, said the total insured loss, including the search, was about US$350 million.

In 2017, Malaysia Airlines became the first airline to sign up for a satellite-based tracking service that can locate its planes anywhere in the world.

At the time of Flight 370’s disappearance, Malaysia Airlines was struggling to cut costs to compete with new, low-cost carriers. In the three years before the incident, the airline reported losses of: RM1.17 billion (US$356 million) in 2013, RM433 million in 2012, and RM2.5 billion in 2011. In the first quarter of 2014, the airline lost RM443.4 million (US$137.4 million). The second quarter of 2014 saw losses of RM307.04 million (US$97.6 million), a 75% increase compared to the same quarter in 2013. Analysts predicted further financial challenges for the airline. The airline’s stock dropped as much as 20% after Flight 370’s disappearance and fell 80% over five years, while the broader Malaysian stock market rose about 80% during the same period.

Many experts and media suggested Malaysia Airlines needed to rebuild its image and seek government help to become profitable again. The loss of Flight 17 in July 2014 worsened the airline’s financial situation. The combined impact of Flight 370 and Flight 17, along with poor financial performance, led Khazanah Nasional, the majority shareholder (69.37%) and a Malaysian state-owned investment firm, to announce plans to buy the remaining shares of the airline, effectively taking it back under government control. Malaysia Airlines was renationalized on 1 September 2015.

The lack of evidence about Flight 370’s disappearance and the absence of physical proof that the plane crashed have raised questions about who is responsible for the accident and the insurance payments. Under the Montreal Convention, the airline is responsible for proving it was not at fault in an accident and must provide evidence to each passenger’s next of kin.

In popular culture

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is considered one of the biggest mysteries in modern aviation history.

Several documentaries have been made about the flight. The Smithsonian Channel showed a one-hour documentary on April 6, 2014, titled Malaysia 370: The Plane That Vanished. The Discovery Channel broadcast a one-hour documentary on April 16, 2014, titled Flight 370: The Missing Links.

On June 17, 2014, an episode of the television documentary series Horizon, titled Where Is Flight MH370?, was shown on BBC Two. The program explains how the plane disappeared, what experts think happened, and how the search has progressed. It also discusses new technologies, such as flight recorder streaming and automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B), which could help prevent similar disappearances in the future. The program notes that the ship Ocean Shield searched 850 km (330 mi) of ocean for two months but looked far north of the Inmarsat "hotspot" on the final arc, near 28 degrees south, where the plane was most likely to have crashed. A modified version of the Horizon program was shown in the U.S. by PBS on October 8, 2014, as an episode of NOVA, titled Why Planes Vanish.

The aviation disaster documentary series Mayday (also known as Air Crash Investigation and Air Emergency) produced an episode titled What Happened to Malaysian 370?. The episode aired in the UK on March 8, 2015, the first anniversary of Flight 370's disappearance. In August 2018, the television series Drain the Oceans, which airs on the National Geographic channel, highlighted the disaster, the search methods, and possible discoveries.

Panoply created a podcast story inspired by the disappearance of MH370, called Passenger List. Kelly Marie Tran played the lead character.

Jeff Rake, the creator of the NBC show Manifest, said that after pitching his idea for the show without success, the MH370 disappearance led to the TV network’s sudden interest.

The first work of fiction about the incident was MH370: A Novella, written by New Zealand author Scott Maka.

In 2022, a three-part documentary series titled MH370: The Lost Flight was released.

On the ninth anniversary of the flight’s disappearance, March 8, 2023, a three-part docuseries titled MH370: The Plane That Disappeared premiered on Netflix.

In 2023, American comedian Jocelyn Chia was investigated by Malaysian police for breaking Malaysian laws related to incitement and offensive online content after making a joke about the flight at Comedy Cellar in New York City. Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, chief of the Malaysian police, said an application would be filed to Interpol to find Chia’s "full identity" and "latest location." A video of her stand-up performance was removed from TikTok for violating the platform’s hate speech guidelines. The Singaporean ambassador to Malaysia stated that Chia (who grew up in Singapore) did not represent Singaporeans. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean Foreign Minister, called Chia’s joke "horrendous statements." Chia defended the joke, saying it was "taken out of context" and had been performed over 100 times without complaints before.